Callie at 13
by blueber
Summary: This is a pre-pilot AU story where Callie is 13 and in foster care with Jude for the past 3 years. She meets and becomes friends with Mariana in a public middle school and gets to know the Fosters, as she deals with a neglectful foster home and a drug pushing foster brother. Disclaimer: Yes, I know I do not own the Fosters characters.
1. A New School

This is a pre-pilot AU story where Callie is 13 and in foster care with Jude for the past 3 years. She meets and becomes friends with Mariana in a public middle school and gets to know the Fosters, as she deals with a neglectful foster home and a drug pushing foster brother. Disclaimer: Yes, I know I do not own the Fosters characters.

**Chapter 1: A New School**

Thirteen year old Callie was tired of that feeling of being the new kid at school. She used to feel so nervous the first day at a new school, but now, it almost felt normal. She was getting used to being placed in a new foster home and a new school every 6 months or so since she entered the foster system at age 10. This time, she was starting 7th grade in a new middle school. They had held her back a year because her records had somehow gotten lost while being transferred in from another school. She didn't even care anymore. She was only upset that her 9 year old brother Jude was now at a different school than her.

Jude had been nervous this morning so Callie walked him to his elementary school and to his first class, even though that made her late for her first day. Luckily, her vice principal, Ms. Lena Adams or something like that, had cut her some slack since it was her first day. Lena had walked her to her first class and asked a girl there called Mariana to be her guide for the day. Callie sat tuned out during her first class. She wasn't even sure what class it was. When the bell rang, she jumped.

Mariana appeared by her side, "Hey Callie, math is next. Follow me. So, what school did you come from?"

"Umm, you know, I don't even remember. I've moved around a lot."

"Yeah? How come?"

Callie decided to come clean, "I'm a foster kid."

"Oh yeah?" Mariana replied, "I was a foster kid too. I was adopted a couple years ago."

Callie stared at her. She was surprised. She wondered if the vice principal had paired them up on purpose. She didn't usually meet other foster kids or adopted kids in her classes.

After being bored out of her mind in her next class, they headed to lunch. Mariana said, "Lunch is pretty gross. Did you bring your own lunch or money for lunch?"

Callie shrugged, "I don't have any money."

She had just been placed at an overcrowded foster home with foster parents that seemed nice but not very involved. They hadn't given them anything to take for lunch. And there didn't seem to be a lot of food in that house anyway with so many kids around. She hoped Jude would find something to eat for lunch too.

"I'll go ask Mama," Mariana said as she steered them to the vice principal's office. Callie was surprised to see Mariana talking to the vice principal and calling her Mama.

Lena turned to her and said, "Callie, I'm going to put you on the free lunch list. Your foster parents haven't done the paperwork yet, but I'll send it home with you, okay? There's also free breakfast if you get here on time."

Callie nodded. She felt a little shy around Lena Adams. She was so tall and beautiful with intense eyes that looked right into you. Mariana seemed so comfortable around her though. Callie wondered what it would be like to be adopted by someone like that.

Mariana chatted her way through lunch and introduced Callie to some friends and her brothers Jesus and Brandon. Callie was still thinking about Lena, "So, your mom is the vice-principal? That must be tough. I bet you can't get away with much at school."

"Yeah, sometimes it sucks," Mariana replied, "but sometimes it's good too."

Jesus added, "Like when you forget lunch money or need something, she's right there!"

"Our other mom's a cop," Brandon interjected, "and she's the one to really watch out for when you get in trouble."

Callie looked up surprised at the mention of a second mom. She wondered what that would be like. She said, "Wow, I guess you try not to get into trouble then."

Mariana replied, "Oh, Jesus is in trouble all the time! Not me though."

"You're a goody-two-shoes," Jesus teased.

"No, I'm just too smart to get caught," Mariana replied. Callie thought to herself that Jesus was probably right.

Callie glanced at a clock and wondered whether Jude was okay. Jude's school got out earlier than hers, so she was planning on skipping her last class to go pick him up. She also wanted to ask about free lunch for him. She had to ditch Mariana though and hope she didn't tell her mother.

"Mariana, I'm just going to go the bathroom. I know where I'm going now, so I'll see you later," she said as she made her escape between classes.

Mariana stared after her and shrugged. She got suspicious when Callie didn't show up for last period, but she decided not to say anything. Callie seemed cool, and she wanted to make friends with her. She wasn't a tattle-tale.

Callie snuck out of her school and made it just in time for Jude's school letting out. She went by the office to pick up a free lunch form for him too. Jude said his teacher had shared her lunch with him today luckily.

Callie and Jude walked back to their foster house. They walked into the noise and chaos of 6 kids returning home and scrounging around for snacks. Their foster parents had two kids of their own and four foster kids including them. It was crowded and noisy, and there didn't seem to be a lot of food. Callie was able to grab a couple crackers from a box for her and Jude before the box was grabbed by another boy and taken away. A fight broke out among the boys downstairs, so they headed upstairs, but they came back down again when her foster sister turned up her music full blast. They decided to walk to the park to do their homework there. Callie and Jude had to be in separate bedrooms because of foster care rules about boys and girls not sharing a room over the age of six. Jude shared a room with a 6 year old boy who wet his bed every night, and Callie with a teenage girl with pink hair and piercings who didn't talk to her. There was another bedroom with two teenage boys who always seemed to be in trouble.

Their foster mom Sue came home from work at 7 PM and threw together a pot of spaghetti with sauce from a jar for dinner. Callie made sure she grabbed enough for Jude before it was gone. Their foster dad was working a night shift. Their foster parents seemed nice enough but just exhausted with work and life. The kids were pretty much left to fend for themselves. Callie didn't mind this. Neglect was better than abuse, and she felt like she could take care of Jude and herself, even at 13. She felt very tired at night though, although she had a hard time falling asleep, listening to the vibrating beat of music coming from her foster sister's ipod.

xoxoxo

The next morning, Callie was late again after taking Jude to his school. This time she got a tardy slip from the office. Luckily, no one had noticed her missing her last class yesterday.

When she came to class, Mariana whispered to her, "Where did you disappear to yesterday?"

Callie shrugged, "I had to go get my little brother from school. Did you tell?"

Mariana shook her head, "Of course not!"

Callie smiled.

At lunch, Mariana said, "If you keep skipping last period, they're going to notice, you know."

Callie shrugged again, "I don't really care."

"I'll try to cover for you. I'll tell the teacher you got sick and went home today, but you can't do it every day."

"Thanks, Jude might be okay after a few days anyway," Callie replied.

Mariana asked, "Want to come over on Saturday to work on that history project?" They were assigned partners for a project in class.

"I have to take care of Jude," Callie replied.

"You can bring him with you."

Callie nodded okay. She was curious about seeing where Mariana lived anyway.

She had bad luck skipping out of of her last class though. Lena happened to be coming around the corner down the hallway when Callie opened the back door to slip out. Lena yelled out, "Hey!", but Callie just ran without looking back. Her heart was beating fast all the way to Jude's school. She tried to put it out of her mind as they did their homework that night.

xoxoxo

The next morning, Callie was late as usual. She walked up to the office with a feeling of dread in her stomach. She knew she'd be in trouble from skipping out yesterday right in front of the vice principal. Lena immediately stepped out and called her into her office,

"Callie, I saw you leaving school yesterday before the last period. And your teacher said that this is a regular pattern for you. Is there a reason you're skipping your last class?"

Callie fidgeted in her chair and shrugged.

Lena continued, "You seem to be having trouble getting to school on time and staying the whole day. I think we should have a meeting with your parents and see what's going on."

"I don't have parents," Callie replied angrily. "And I doubt my foster parents would come to a meeting anyway."

Lena looked at her with concern and gently said, "Callie, please tell me why you're skipping class. I can't help you if I don't know what's going on."

Callie was surprised that Lena cared. She was prepared to get detention or something but not to answer questions. Lena just stared at her pointedly while Callie wondered what she should say.

Callie finally admitted, "Umm, I take my little brother Jude to school in the morning and pick him up afterwards, but his school ends earlier than mine…."

Lena looked up in surprise, "Okay, I'm glad you told me. We can work with that."

They worked out a plan that Callie would take Jude to his school earlier in the mornings for breakfast, and Jude would walk to Callie's school after his school day and wait in the office with Lena for Callie to be done.

Callie left Lena's office feeling relieved. She was surprised that Lena had listened to her and worked with her to come up with a plan. She wasn't used to adults listening to her or trusting her, and she wasn't used to trusting adults either. Surprisingly, she found herself trusting Lena. It felt strange, but good.


	2. Foster Houses

_**Recap**: Callie is 13 and in the foster system with Jude. She meets and becomes friends with Mariana in a public middle school and slowly gets to know the Fosters. She's invited to Foster's house to work on a school project and brings Jude with her. They visit each other's houses which are very different._

**Chapter 2: The Foster's house vs. a foster house**

On Saturday morning, Callie and Jude headed to Mariana's house with their school books. They had to walk a long time to get there, but at least their foster parents didn't seem to care where they went.

Lena opened the door with a welcoming smile. She set them up in the living room with Mariana and some snacks. Jude polished off his in a second. There had been no breakfast except some stale cereal at their foster home. The girls started chatting and working on their project, while Jude got out his math homework. He kept interrupting Callie to ask her math questions.

"What's 6 times 7?"

"42"

Lena came in to hear Callie give him the answers and said, "Callie, if you keep giving him the answers, he's not going to learn them. It's better if you start with what he knows and try to get him to work it out."

Lena turned to Jude, "Hey, bud, do you want to come keep me company in the kitchen? I can help you with math, and you can help me make cookies."

Callie was surprised to see Jude gather up his books and follow Lena out. He usually never left her side. I guess he liked Lena. She had noticed that Lena was often chatting with him or helping him when she went by to pick him up from Lena's office after school.

xoxoxo

Lena got Jude some more snacks and watched him gulp them down.

"Did you skip breakfast this morning, honey?"

Jude nodded hesitantly.

"What's your foster home like?" Lena probed.

"Well, we just got there last week, and it's better than the last one," Jude replied, "There's a lot of kids though, and it's pretty noisy. Sue and Joe, our foster parents, seem nice but they're not around much."

Lena wondered if they were getting enough to eat and enough care. It worried her. She explained the next math problem to him while getting the ingredients out for cookies.

Jude said, "Oh, now I get it! You're good at explaining things! Thank you," with a huge smile. That smile was thanks enough. Lena felt her heart warming to this endearing boy. She hoped their foster home was a good one.

xoxoxo

The girls were mostly chatting before getting started on their project. Callie was telling Mariana about her teenage foster sister to make her laugh.

"And last night, I told her to turn down her music so I could sleep, and she just gave me a bottle of cough syrup instead!"

"What? Why?" Mariana asked.

Callie explained, "You know, cuz some cough syrups have alcohol. And you can get high with the DM kind if you drink like a whole bottle. She's always chugging it."

She continued with a teasing tone, "Haven't you tried it? It tastes pretty good."

Mariana made an "eww gross" type of face and they giggled.

Just then, Stef walked in from her morning jog and heard her 12 year old talking about abusing cough syrup with her friend. She was appalled.

"What are you guys talking about?" she demanded.

Mariana looked nervous, "Nothing Mom! This is my friend Callie. We're working on a project."

"Hmm. Hi Callie... Perhaps there should be more work and less talk," Stef said shaking her head as she went upstairs to change.

xoxoxo

Callie and Jude ate a huge lunch at the Fosters, and it tasted so good. This house was crowded too, but it felt very different from their foster home. There was more food and less fights. It felt more like a real family. Callie felt a longing to be in a family like this, even though Stef made her a little nervous. She kept glancing at Stef. She seemed like a fun mom, joking with all the kids, but she also seemed a little scary, like you wouldn't want to get on her bad side. And Lena seemed so calm and caring, although you wouldn't want to get on her bad side either.

Callie and Jude headed back to their foster house after lunch.  
Jude said, "I really like that house. It feels comfortable there. Do you think we'll ever be in a house like that?"  
Callie shrugged and gave Jude a squeeze, "I don't know, Jude. Some people are lucky."

xoxoxoxo

The next week, Mariana wanted to come over to Callie's house after school to work on the project some more.  
Callie warned her, "My house isn't like your house, you know."  
Mariana thought to herself how bad could it be, but she was a little shocked by how run down and loud Callie's house was, after walking there after school. Everything looked dirty and messy. There was an old saggy couch and a couple beanbags in front of an old TV in the living room. Callie's foster brothers were arguing and playing a violent video game on an old game console. Her foster sister was blasting her music upstairs. They decided to work in the kitchen which was a little quieter. Jude followed them where ever they went.

After awhile, Callie's teenage foster brother Dan came in to the kitchen. He was a big rough looking guy with greasy long hair and a hint of facial hair. He said, "Do you want a drag?" offering them a joint that he was smoking. Callie coughed and waved her arms at the smell of the pot, and said, "No thanks, Dan. And by the way, her mom is a cop!"  
Dan backed away in alarm. Mariana just looked at him, wide eyed.

When it was time for Lena to pick up Mariana, Callie suggested they wait outside for her. She didn't want Lena to come inside. She wasn't sure if Mariana's moms would approve of what went on in her house.

xoxoxoxo

That night, Stef came home and could swear that she could smell a faint odor of marijuana at the dinner table. Mariana was telling Lena about her afternoon, "I really felt sad for Callie and Jude, Mama. Their house is kind of run down, and their foster brothers and sisters are a little weird."

Lena replied, "Well, there are all kinds of houses and families out there, honey, but I hope it's a safe place for Callie and Jude."

Stef asked, "Were the foster parents there?"

"No," Mariana replied hesitantly, "I didn't see them. But she has a lot of older teenage foster brothers and sisters. I guess they were in charge."

"Hmmm," Stef didn't seemed appeased. She asked them where the house was and seemed even more disturbed, "That's not the greatest neighborhood. I don't feel comfortable with you going over there on your own, sweets."

"But Mom," Mariana protested, "we have to finish the project this weekend."

"Well, Callie can come over here then," Stef compromised.

xoxoxo

Later that night, Stef asked Lena, "What do we know about this Callie? Do you think she's a good friend for Mariana?"

"Well, she seems like a nice girl," Lena replied, "I don't think she has the best home environment, but that's not her fault."

"Yes, and I'm sorry about that, but I don't want Mariana to be around bad influences either," Stef said impatiently.

Lena gave her a look and answered gently, 'I don't think Callie will be a bad influence. She's had a hard life, but Mariana actually has a lot in common with her. I think it's good for Mariana to have a friend who understands what it was like to be in the foster system. It's good for both of them."

Stef thought it over and nodded, "You're right. I hadn't thought of it that way. I still worry about Mariana though. It wasn't that long ago when she was so shy and quiet. I'm still getting used to this new Mariana who's finding her wings."

"I know, she's changed so much," Lena agreed, "And I'm so proud of her! But part of growing up is making your own friends, and I think this could be a good friendship for her. Give Callie a chance, honey."

Stef said, "Okay love. I don't want Mariana going to Callie's house again until I check it out though."

xoxoxoxo

The next weekend, Callie came over to the Foster's house to work on the project again, after dropping off Jude at a friend's house.

At lunch, Stef started questioning Callie, "So, are there a lot of people living at your foster house, Callie?"

"Yeah, it's pretty crowded."

"How old are your foster siblings?"

Mariana blurted out, "You should tell her about your weird foster sister and foster brother! Her foster sister chugs cough syrup, and her foster brother is a pothead!"

"Excuse me?" Stef asked in disbelief.

The table was suddenly quiet.

"Did you say pothead? Are there drugs at the house?" Stef demanded in a scary tone. She stared at Mariana and Callie in turn.

Mariana realized her mom was about to lose it and tried to backpedal, "Mom! I just meant he looks like a pothead. I don't know if he really is."

Callie felt a little ashamed of her foster house. Then she started to feel angry. She was pretty sure that Stef thought she was a bad influence on Mariana.  
She angrily spat out, "Listen, if you don't want Mariana to come over to my house, just say it. Yes, my house is not like yours. It's probably not the best place for a kid, but hey, some of us don't have a choice!"

Lena started to say, "Honey,..", but Callie grabbed her backpack and ran out.

Mariana yelled, "Callie wait!"

But Callie was gone.


	3. Troubles

_**Recap**__: Callie is 13 and in a new middle school where she makes friends with Mariana and gets to know the Fosters. _S_tef and Lena are wary of letting Mariana spend time at Callie's troubled foster home because Callie's foster brother is involved with drugs/pot._

**Chapter 3: Troubles**

Mariana caught up with Callie at lunch the next day, "I'm sorry about yesterday. My mom's so paranoid! I'm not allowed to come to your house anymore. But it's not because of you. It's your foster brother, in case he's a druggie."

Callie shrugged, "Yeah, I get it." Callie had thought about what happened at the Foster's house. Stef had seemed so alarmed when Mariana had called Callie's foster brother a pothead. She had prepared herself in case they didn't want Mariana to be friends with her anymore. She was trying not to care.

"You probably shouldn't be hanging out with me anyway," she continued with a blank guarded look.

"But I want to," Mariana replied honestly.

"You might get in trouble with your moms," Callie warned, although she felt happy that Mariana still wanted to be friends.

"I don't care!" Mariana added, "I'm sick of being a goody two shoes all the time, you know. My moms are so overprotective!"

"At least they care," Callie replied with a shrug.

Mariana sighed, "I know, but I want to live life you know…"  
She continued with her eyes gleaming, "Let's skip school!"

"What? Why?" Callie said in alarm.

"I don't know ... to live life?"

"We'll get caught, Mariana."

"Well, no one keeps track of us at lunch. Let's go get ice cream and come back in time for the next class. I bet we won't get caught. I'm going whether you come or not."  
Mariana seemed very determined.  
Callie sighed, "Okay...but don't say I didn't warn you."

They quietly sneaked out of the cafeteria back door and ran to an ice cream parlor a couple blocks away, giggling when they realized no one had seen them leave. Callie had no money, but Mariana said she wanted to share a bowl together. They sat by the window, smiling as they shared a bowl of cookies-n-cream ice cream.

As they were finishing up, they saw Callie's foster brother Dan walking by the window. He saw them and came inside, much to their chagrin.

He grinned and said, "Hey, little sis, you skipping school too?"

"No, we're going back right now," Callie hurriedly explained.

"Hey, no trouble," Dan reassured them, "I'm not telling."

He continued with a sly smile, "You know what, you could do me a favor actually."

He pulled out something small wrapped in aluminum foil. "You want to sell some of these for me at your school? Finest weed in the neighborhood!"

"Um, no," replied Callie with attitude, "we don't want to sell drugs for you."

"Hey, it's just pot. It's harmless."

He turned to Mariana and said, "How about you, little lady?"

Mariana just shook her head. She was frozen to her seat like a deer in headlights.

Dan turned back to Callie and tried again, "I see you looking after your little brother. Don't you want to make some money to buy him stuff? I bet he could use some new shoes, or hell, even some food." He laughed.

He unzipped the front pocket of Callie's backpack and put the joint in and said, "Just think about it for awhile." And then he walked off.

Mariana hesitantly whispered, "Callie, what are you going to do?"

"Nothing, let's just get back to school," replied Callie anxiously.

xoxoxoxo

Unfortunately, sneaking back into school after everyone was in class was harder than sneaking out. They thought they would be back while everyone was still eating lunch, but Dan had made them late. They quietly opened the back door to the cafeteria to sneak in. But when they opened the cafeteria door to enter the classroom hallway, they came face to face with Lena. She crossed her arms and glared down at them,  
"Where have you young ladies been?"

Mariana and Callie glanced at each other and looked down.

"I'm waiting for an explanation," she demanded angrily.

Mariana finally said, "Mama, please don't be mad. We just went for a walk and didn't realize what time it was. We're only a little late to our next class."

Lena pointed them to a bench to sit down and pulled up a chair to sit in front of them.  
"I know the lunch recess is not closely supervised, but we trust our students to get to their next class in time. You have broken that trust." she said sternly.  
"Did you leave the school grounds?" she continued.

They quickly shook their heads. Mariana jumped in again, "We were just walking outside...on the school grounds... and talking and didn't realize the time."  
Callie was impressed at how quickly she was able to lie.

Lena frowned at Mariana, not sure if she was telling the truth.  
"You are still responsible for being on time for your class. I don't think I can trust you to have unsupervised lunch for awhile. You will have detention after school today, and you will eat lunch in my office for the rest of the week, understood?"

They both nodded.

"Back to class please. And no more trouble. I know that you will work hard to earn my trust again," Lena reprimanded as she walked them back to their classroom.

Callie walked back to class with a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was guilt. She felt really bad about letting Lena down . And if Lena knew what was in her backpack, Callie was sure Lena would never trust her again. She had to get rid of that thing. She felt like it was burning a hole in her backpack, trying to get out.

xoxoxoxo

Detention after school was the worst. Lena still looked angry and disappointed, and Jude was there to see it.

As she walked by to go to detention, Jude asked, "What did you do, Callie? You upset Lena."

"We were just stupid. Mariana and I snuck out during lunch. I won't do it again."

Jude nodded and gave her a disappointed look while he waited for her.

Sitting in detention, Callie was feeling even worse about herself. She thought about how Stef probably believed that Callie was bad news. Lena had trusted her until today, but Callie had let her down. And if they only knew what was in her backpack. She also thought about Jude and how his clothes barely fit him since he had grown a couple inches this year and that his shoes had holes. She had mentioned it to her foster mother, but Sue never seemed to have time to get them new clothes. She wished she was older and could earn money to take care of Jude. Their mom would have wanted her to take good care of him. Maybe she should give in to Dan and sell for him. She was already marked as bad anyway. Why fight it.

After detention, Lena quietly asked Callie, "Whose idea was it to skip out during lunch? Was it Mariana's?"

Callie looked down, not knowing what to say. Mariana came up behind them before she had to say anything luckily.

Lena turned to both girls said, "I know you are both at that age where it's natural to test your independence, and sometimes peer pressure makes it even harder to do the right thing. If you are sneaking around and hiding things, that's a sign that what you are doing is probably not the right thing. I know you can make better choices. And if you are a good friend, you look out for your friends and help each other make better choices, okay?

The girls nodded. They looked at each other in concern, thinking of the things that they were hiding.

Callie walked out to find Jude and started gathering their things to walk home. Lena called out behind them, "Callie, Jude, I wanted to ask you about something else too. I have some clothes and shoes that Jesus outgrew. They should be about Jude's size. Would you like to look through them next time you are over and take whatever you want? It would be a big favor for me. And I know Mariana would love for you to come over this weekend."

Callie looked up at Lena in disbelief, while Jude nodded.

"Are you sure you still want me to come over?" asked Callie hesitantly.

"Of course," Lena responded with a gentle look, "You're Mariana's friend, and we like having both of you over, sweetheart. There's no question about that, okay?"

Callie nodded, feeling a sense of relief. Maybe they didn't think she was all bad after all. She knew what she had to do now.


	4. Choices

_**Recap**__: Callie is 13 years old and in a new middle school where she makes friends with Mariana and gets to know the Fosters. Stef and Lena are wary of letting Mariana spend time at Callie's troubled foster house. Callie's foster brother Dan has tried to get Callie to sell pot for him._

**Chapter 4: Choices**

Callie and Jude walked back home. Callie was lost in thought thinking about her day. She was still hyper-aware of that small package of pot in her backpack that her foster brother Dan gave her to sell, but she knew what she had to do now.

As they got closer, Callie saw Dan waiting on the corner close to their foster house. Her heart sank.

"Hey, little sis, did you do what I asked you to?" he asked with a smug grin.

Callie shook her head and took out the package from her backpack and gave it back to him.

"I don't want it. I don't want trouble," she said adamantly.

Dan grabbed it and tucked it into his pocket before anyone could see. He gave her a hard look and shrugged. His voice was cold as he said, "Your choice….Let me know if you change your mind."

Just then, a cop car pulled up next to them. It was Stef! Callie's stomach flopped. Stef rolled down her window and pierced them with her all-knowing eyes,  
"Everything okay here?"

Dan smiled although his eyes remained hard, "Yep, we're just talking. See you back home sis," and casually walked away.

Stef's glare softened as she looked over the two kids, "Are you two okay?"

Callie nodded. She couldn't look Stef in the eyes. Jude was staring after Dan in confusion. He looked over at Callie and asked, "What were you and Dan talking about, Callie?"

"Nothing, I'll tell you later," Callie said in a tight voice.

Stef got out of the car and bent down to look Callie in the eye. She reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Callie, you need to be careful," she warned in a forceful tone. "I've been keeping an eye on your foster brother, and he's trouble. You need to stay away from him. Make the right choices, love, for your sake and for Jude's sake.….Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Callie nodded. She felt her eyes tearing up.

Stef demanded forcefully, "What's that?" wanting Callie to respond in words.

Callie found her voice and hesitantly replied in a shaking voice, "I understand...I'm trying to..."

Then, she found herself getting a little angry again and tearfully blurted out, "Why do you even care? You're not my mom!"

Stef looked a little taken back. Her voice sounded tired and a bit frustrated as she said,  
"No, I'm not, but I do care. And if you're in trouble, you can come to me or Lena, and we will help you, okay?"

Callie nodded and murmured, "Okay…. Umm, we need to go."

She grabbed Jude's hand and walked back to their foster house, under Stef's watchful eye. She wasn't sure why she had yelled at Stef again. She knew Stef was just looking out for them. She desperately wanted Stef to like her, but when Stef looked angry, she got defensive. Maybe she wanted to push her away before she was rejected.

When they got in the house, Dan grabbed Callie's arm and yanked her into the kitchen.  
"What did you tell that cop?" he said angrily.

"N..nothing," Callie stuttered, feeling scared.

Jude pulled on Dan's arm and yelled, "Let go of my sister, you big bully!"

Dan pushed him away and hissed at Callie, "You better keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you and your little brother, got it?"

Callie nodded, her eyes filling with tears, "I didn't say anything, really!"

"Keep it that way!" he said as he let go of Callie and walked out of the kitchen.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The next day, during lunch at school, Mariana whispered, "Do you still have that thing that Dan gave you? Are you going to sell it?"

"No, I gave it back..."

Callie continued hesitantly, "I was tempted at first, you know, because I'd be able to buy stuff for Jude."

Mariana nodded, "I can understand that."

Callie quietly continued, "But what would your moms think of me?"

"They'd be mad…and disappointed," Mariana replied honestly.

"Yeah. It's strange, but I think I would have given in to Dan, if I hadn't met your moms," Callie admitted.

Mariana nodded again, "Yeah, my moms are like that. When Lena looks at me I just want to do the right thing, and when Stef looks at me I'm too scared to not do the right thing. I don't want to let either one of them down."

Callie looked up at Mariana in surprise. That's exactly how she felt around Mariana's moms, and they weren't even her moms.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Callie and Jude were invited to the Fosters for a sleepover that weekend. Jude was very excited, and Callie was glad to get away from her foster brother. They eagerly walked over to the Fosters house after school on Friday.

All the kids were playing outside when Stef came home from work. She stepped out of the car with a huge smile, "Hey babies, what are you up to?"

Jesus yelled, "Hey mom, we want to play capture the flag, but we need one more person. Will you play with us?"

"Sure, let me go get changed. I'll be right back."

She went upstairs to change and to give her wife a kiss, and then came outside again.

"Alright, who wants to be on my winning team?" she said rubbing her hands.

They decided on girls against boys, so Stef, Callie, and Mariana started strategizing. Stef distracted Jesus and Jude by grabbing them and turning them upside down, and Mariana got Brandon to chase her, while Callie sneaked in to grab the boys' flag. It was a success! Stef grabbed Mariana and Callie in a big bear hug and yelled "Girl power!"

Jesus attacked them from behind, and they all ended up in a big pig pile. Everyone was smiling and laughing. Jude and Callie were giggling away with the rest of the kids. Callie looked over at Jude tangled in Stef's arms. He looked so happy. She felt her eyes tearing up. Stef caught her eye and smiled at her. Callie couldn't help but smile back.

Stef finally said, "Alright you monkeys, everyone inside to wash your hands and then to the kitchen to help Mama make pizzas for dinner!"  
"Pizzas! Yey!" Jesus shouted, and they made their way inside.

Lena set them up in an assembly line to put toppings on the pizzas. Dinner was full of noise, laughter, and good food. Callie felt happier than she had been in a long time.

After dinner, they decided to have a movie night. Lena asked Callie to come to the kitchen to help her get some popcorn, while everyone was settling in the living room.  
"Honey, come sit for a minute. I want to talk to you," Lena said as she sat down and patted the seat next to her in the kitchen. Stef and Lena had decided that Lena should talk to Callie about her foster home since Callie seemed more comfortable with her and a little scared of Stef.

She looked at Callie and gently said, "Stef and I are concerned about your foster home and whether it is a safe place for you and Jude. We were thinking of contacting your social worker.."

"Please don't call our social worker," Callie interrupted in fear, "They'll move us again!"

Lena reached out and put her hand on Callie's, "Honey, you deserve a better home."

"The foster home before this one was much worse. At least we don't get hit at this one," Callie replied, "and Jude really likes his school and he's making friends, and so am I. If they move us again, we'll have to change schools. Please don't make us move again."  
And she thought to herself that they wouldn't see the Fosters again if they were moved. That somehow was the worst of it.

"Okay," Lena sighed still concerned. "You know that you can come to us if you feel you aren't safe or you need anything, right?"

Callie nodded. Lena put an arm on her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. Callie wasn't used to hugs, but she found herself relaxing into the hug, inhaling Lena's scent. She felt safe with Lena's arm around her. She wished she could stay there forever. She wished she could tell Lena about how Dan had tried to get her to sell pot and had scared her, but she knew she couldn't. Lena would probably be angry and disappointed in her, and she would definitely call their social worker, and then they would never see the Fosters again.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Mariana and Callie stayed up late talking in Mariana's room that night. Jude was already asleep.

"You know," Mariana said, "I think my mom's so paranoid about me coming to your house and being around drugs because my birth mom Ana is a druggie."

Callie looked up in surprise at this, "Do you see your birth mom?"

Mariana hesitated, "Um, not really. Not since we were adopted. She's been in jail. She chose drugs over us."

Callie looked down and said, "My dad's in jail, but my mom's dead…. I'd give anything to see her again."

"I don't know who my dad is... Do you think you'll see your dad once he gets out of jail?" Mariana asked.

Callie shrugged, feeling sad, "I doubt it…. We used to write to him every week, but he stopped writing back. He was never around much when we were little anyway, but he was still my dad, you know….When we first went into foster care, I thought that he'd come rescue us…. But now, I don't think he will anymore."

Mariana reached out to hold Callie's hand and squeezed.

Then she hesitantly continued, "Callie, I want to tell you something, but you can't tell anyone, okay?"

"Yeah, of course," Callie replied.

"I saw Ana, my birth mom, yesterday."

"You did? How?"

"She came up to me after school. Luckily, no one saw us."

"What did she say?"

"She told me that she just got out of jail and was clean now. And she said she's sorry for everything and wants to see me. Then, I saw Brandon walking out, so I said I had to go."

"Do you want to see her again? Would your moms let you?"

"I don't know. I'm still really mad at her. But I think I want to see her. She said to call the halfway house she's staying at, if I want to," Mariana said as she anxiously twisted her bracelet.

"You should probably tell your moms. You shouldn't see her alone," Callie warned.

"If I tell them, they probably wouldn't let me see her. You saw how Stef is with your house…. Would you come to see her with me?" asked Mariana hopefully.

Callie reluctantly nodded.


	5. Busted

_**Recap**__: Callie is 13 and in a new middle school where she makes friends with Mariana and gets to know the Fosters. Stef and Lena are wary of letting Mariana spend time at Callie's troubled foster house. Callie's foster brother Dan has tried to get Callie to sell pot for him, but she has refused. Mariana wants to meet her birth mom Ana but hasn't told her moms! Dun dun dun!_

**Chapter 5: Busted**

The next morning at school, Mariana whispered to Callie by the lockers, "I called my birth mom, Ana, and I'm going to meet her at lunch today."

"At school?" asked Callie in surprise.

"No, I gave her your house's address and told her I'd meet her there with a friend."

"What? You're not even supposed to be at my house! If Stef finds out, she'll kill us both!"

"I didn't know where else to meet her," Mariana explained with an embarrassed look. "She said she couldn't have guests at the halfway house. And your creepy foster brother won't be at your house during school hours, so there's no problem."

"Mariana, remember when we got caught last time when we left at lunch?" Callie protested.

"Well, we'll be more careful. We'll just make sure we come back in time for class so no one finds out."

Callie gave Mariana an exasperated look, but she knew she would give in and go with her friend. She couldn't let her go alone. She had a bad feeling about this though.

Mariana and Callie met in the cafeteria at lunch and casually walked outside, sneaking out. Callie kept looking over her shoulder expecting Lena or Stef to come by at any moment. Lena would be so disappointed if she knew they were skipping out again. And Stef would be angry that they went to Callie's foster house. They quickly walked to her house, both lost in thought and guilt. Ana came by a couple minutes after they got there. Luckily, no one else was home.

Callie nervously looked over Mariana's birth mom. Ana didn't look good; she had dark circles under her eyes, and her clothes and hair looked bedraggled. Callie remembered how Mariana had called her a druggie. She looked like it.

Ana sat down on the couch next to Mariana and gave her a big smile, "I can't believe how big you've gotten baby! And you're 11 now?"

"I'm 12!" Mariana replied, a little offended.

"I'm so proud of you! I'm trying hard to get myself together. I've just had some hard times, you know?"

Mariana nodded sadly.

"I hate to ask," Ana continued, "but do you think you could get me some money? I have to leave the halfway house soon, and I have nowhere to go. Anything would help."

Mariana was taken aback. "I don't have money," she said confused.

"What about something I could sell? Do you have anything in your backpack? Your parents probably buy you lots of things now that you're adopted."

"Why would I give you things they've bought for me?" Mariana protested, still a bit confused why Ana was asking her for things.

"Don't be like that Mariana. You know, I try to send you something every Christmas. I can't afford much, but just something small. I don't write my name on it, but do you get my presents?" Ana said as she began crying.

Mariana thought about it, "I don't know. We do usually get an unmarked gift, but I thought those gifts were because we were on some church list or something from back when we were foster kids. They're from you?"

Ana nodded as tears ran down from her eyes, "I left you alone all day and night at Christmas when you were 5 because I really needed…"

"A hit?" Mariana filled in angrily.

Ana meekly nodded, "That's when they took you away from me. I wanted to make up for that day. I'm so sorry, Mariana."

Mariana gave her a sad, troubled look. She pulled up her backpack and started looking through it. She found her ipod and held it out, "Here, take this. I'll tell my moms I lost it."

Ana's eyes lit up, "Thanks honey! I have to go now, but you're a good girl."  
Before they could say anything, she gathered up her stuff and left.

Callie reached out for Mariana's hand, as Mariana started crying.  
"I'm sorry," Callie said sadly.  
"You know," Callie continued, "Stef and Lena love you, and they are ten times better mothers to have than Ana. You're still very lucky."

"I know. I'm still sad though. I sometimes wish that Ana was never my birth mom, but part of me still loves her too," Mariana sadly explained.

Callie nodded. She felt the same way about her dad. They sat in silence for awhile.

Then, Callie looked up at the time and let out a gasp, "Mariana, we're late! We already missed our first class after lunch!"

They quickly gathered up their things. But before they could get up, they heard the front door creaking open. The door opened wide, and the girls were horrified to see that it was Dan! He strutted in with two other teenage boys.

"Hey girls, you here to help me roll some joints?" he said with his smirking grin. He got out his stash from under the couch and started setting up on the table to sell some pot to his friends.

Callie jumped up in alarm and said, "We have to leave."

Dan laughed, "What's your hurry, little sis. Let me teach you how to make a sale."

Callie grabbed Mariana and led her to the door. Dan just laughed at them running away.

When they reached the door, they were surprised to hear insistent knocking on the door. Callie hesitantly opened it. It was Stef in full uniform glaring back at her!

"Are you okay? Is Mariana with you?" demanded Stef in a no nonsense voice. Lena had called her when the girls hadn't shown up to class after lunch, and she had been searching for them and had come by Callie's house on a hunch.

Callie was too scared to answer, but she opened the door wider so that Stef could see Mariana behind her. Mariana gasped and turned pale.

Dan's friends saw Stef too and quickly scrambled up and ran out the back door. Dan said, "Oh, sh*t!" and stupidly wasted time trying to gather up his joints from the table in the living room.

Stef sharply inhaled and said "Is that what I think it is?"

She pushed the girls out of the way and yelled, "Police! Put your hands up!" as she headed for the table.

Dan started getting up to run away, but Stef was too fast. She grabbed Dan and threw him to the floor. In a second, she had him in handcuffs and was calling for backup on her radio.

Callie and Mariana just stared. They had never seen Stef in action.

Stef's partner ran in. Stef pulled up Dan from the floor and passed him to her partner. She glared at the girls and said in a scary whisper, "This is what happens to people who get involved with drugs, got it?"

They nodded in shock.

Stef put her hands on their shoulders and led them outside to the side of the house. She told them to sit on the grass, and she knelt down in front of them.

"You're in a lot of trouble," she fiercely whispered. "What were you thinking? You put yourself in a very dangerous situation."

Mariana replied in a quivering voice, "It's my fault. I just wanted to talk, and I convinced Callie to bring me here. But we got up to leave as soon as Dan came in."

Stef just continued to glare at them.

Callie whispered, "Stef, I'm really sorry I let Mariana come to my house and put her in this situation."

Stef looked at Callie quizzically, "You're in this situation too. This is not a good place to live for you and Jude either."

"It's better than some places we've lived," Callie protested. "I guess we'll get moved again now. What am I going to tell Jude? He was just settling in."

Stef shook her head sadly and said, "I need to make some calls. You two stay here. And don't you dare move!"

Stef called Lena and then the Department of Social Services while the girls sat, scared to move. She finally came back to the girls and said, "Callie, go pack up your bags, for both you and Jude. I'm not leaving you here. You can spend the night at our house. Your social worker will come by tomorrow, and we'll try to figure something out."

Callie looked up in surprise. She was expecting the worst. She knew Stef was angry at her and was surprised that she would offer to take them home for the night.

"Don't worry, you're still in trouble," Stef said with a glare. But then she shot Callie a gentler look, "But I'll try to keep you troublemakers safe at least for tonight."

_Author's Note: There will be at least 1 more chapter at the Foster's house where the Ana situation comes to light. Originally, I was going to send Callie and Jude to the Olmstead house next, before they end up at the Fosters, but I'm not sure I want to write about Liam's attack, and it's been done many times. So, maybe I should just let them stay at the Fosters for good now. What do you guys think? BTW, Happy New Year!_


	6. Resolutions

_**Recap**__: Callie is 13 and in a new middle school where she makes friends with Mariana and gets to know the Fosters. Callie's foster brother Dan has tried to get Callie to sell pot for him, and was arrested by Stef in the last chapter. Mariana met her birth mom Ana and gave Ana her ipod, but hasn't told her moms._

_Author's Note: I think there were 6 votes to leave them at the Fosters and 7 or 8 to make them go to the Olmsteads first, but I wimped out and left them at the Fosters. Sorry! Hope you enjoy it anyway. Thanks for reading!_

**Chapter 6: Resolutions**

The drive back to the Fosters house was a quiet one. Callie felt relieved and glad that she and Jude were staying at the Fosters tonight, instead of being taken somewhere new. But she also felt guilty and worried that Stef and Lena would be angry with her. She bit her lip as she felt herself adrift again in a confusing mixture of emotions.

Lena met them at the door with a serious expression on her face. The girls followed the moms into the living room, and Lena pointed at the couch and told them to sit down.

Lena crossed her arms and sternly said, "Explain to me why you skipped school and ended up at Callie's foster house."

Mariana stuttered, "Um, we just lost track of time?"

"Try again. We're not falling for that again."

Mariana blushed and tried again, "Um, you see, I lost my ipod!" She had suddenly remembered that she gave her ipod to Ana and thought maybe she could kill two birds with one stone. "And," she continued at a faster pace, "we were looking for it outside. I thought maybe I dropped it on the way to school."

Callie glanced up at her in surprise. She was so amazed at Mariana's talent at coming up with plausible stories. She had been ready to tell them the whole truth, but she thought better of it now. She decided to back up Mariana, "And...Mariana was worried you'd be upset, so I told her she could borrow my ipod until she found hers, so we went to my house to get it."

Mariana finished, "We didn't think her foster brother would be there, and we left as soon as he came in." There, that should do it. Callie and Mariana glanced and nodded at each other with wide eyes, hoping the story would pass.

Lena looked at them thoughtfully, "Girls, you can't just leave school without telling anyone. We didn't know where you were. You could have been hurt. We were worried sick."

Mariana's eyes widened at the thought of worrying her moms, "We're sorry! really! We didn't mean to worry anyone." Callie nodded at her words, feeling terrible.

Stef caught Callie's gaze and cornered her. "Did you know that your foster brother was selling drugs?" she asked in her no nonsense cop tone.

Callie nodded, with dread in her stomach. She avoided their eyes and murmured, "He wanted me to sell for him at school, but I said no."

Lena gasped, "Why didn't you tell someone?"

Callie looked up in surprise, "Who would I tell?"

Stef took a deep breath and angrily said, "Your foster parents? Lena and I? This is the kind of dangerous situation where you need to go to an adult for help." She gave Callie a frustrated look, "Do you understand that?"

Callie nodded, too scared to speak.

"Are you sure?" Stef pressed.

Callie nodded again and then whispered, "It's just that in my world, you don't."

"What do you mean?"

"Telling adults doesn't usually help in my world," Callie admitted truthfully. Her experiences in foster care had taught her that telling an adult often made things worse instead of better. They would get moved once again and often put in a worse situation.

Lena came over and sat down next to Callie and reached out to hold her hand, "Honey, I'm sorry that's been your experience." She stroked her hand, "But we are here to help. And we will…. Do you trust us?"

Callie thought about that for awhile. She hadn't trusted adults for a long time, but yes, she decided she did trust Stef and Lena. She looked up at Lena, "Yes...I should have told you. I'm sorry. I really wanted to tell you about Dan asking me to sell drugs at school, and I almost did. I told him I wouldn't do it, but it was hard." She looked down feeling embarrassed at how hard it was.

Lena tilted her head to catch Callie's eyes again and said, "I'm proud of you for telling your foster brother no. That took a lot of courage." Callie looked up in surprise.

Stef added, "I agree, it must have been hard to stand up to him and do the right thing. You were brave, but it was a dangerous situation, and I wish you had asked for help too."

"I think it helped that you were around," Callie shyly admitted. "That helped me to stand up to him. And I think I would have told you if it had gotten worse."

"I'm glad," Lena said as she patted her hand.

"Ok, let's get some dinner and then set up some sleeping bags for you and Jude in Mariana's room."

The girls stood up in relief. As they left the room, Stef added, "By the way, you're both grounded, and we'll talk about this more later."

xoxoxoxo

Jude was so excited to be at the Foster's house with all of their belongings. He whispered to Callie, "Maybe we can stay here for awhile!". Callie looked at him sadly and softly said, "I wouldn't count on it buddy." He shrugged, but he was still excited during dinner and even doing his homework with Lena's help.

Lena helped him get ready for bed and tucked him into a sleeping bag, while the girls played a board game downstairs. He still seemed too wired to sleep though. Stef came in to give him a good night kiss too. Lena suggested, "Want to borrow Callie's ipod and listen to some music for awhile? or I can read to you?"

Jude hesitantly replied, "Callie doesn't have an ipod, but would you really read to me? Callie reads Harry Potter to me sometimes."

Lena answered, "Sure", while glancing up at Stef with questioning look.

Stef was also surprised to hear that Callie did not have an ipod when she had just told them that she let Mariana borrow it.

Stef walked purposefully downstairs to find the girls and ran right into Callie coming out of the bathroom. "We need to talk," she said as she grabbed Callie's arm and led her into the kitchen.

"Sit," she ordered, pointing to a stool. "Jude just told me you don't have an ipod," she said, crossing her arms and fixing Callie with a glare.

Callie blushed and looked down as she whispered, "Sorry."

"Care to explain?"

Callie didn't know what to say without getting Mariana in trouble. She shrugged and stared at the table.

"Mariana," Stef yelled out to the living room, "get in here." Mariana came in timidly, looking at Callie in alarm.

"We know that Callie doesn't have an ipod, so why did you go to Callie's house? Where's your ipod?"

Mariana stuttered, "I.. I gave it to someone?"

"Who?"

Mariana was silent.

Stef put her hand under Mariana's chin and lifted her eyes up to her, "Who did you give it to Mariana?"

She quietly answered, "Ana."

"What?"

Lena heard the commotion and came down to the kitchen too. Mariana told them how Ana had approached her and how she had agreed to meet her at Callie's house and ended up giving her the ipod.

Lena asked with a frustrated look, "Why didn't you tell us, Mariana?"

"I wanted to talk to her," Mariana admitted. "Would you have let me?"

Stef said "No!" forcefully at the same time as Lena replied "Yes." They looked at each other in surprise.

Stef started pacing the kitchen, "I'm filing a restraining order against Ana. You are not to go anywhere near her, understood?"

Lena went to Stef and put her hand on her arm to calm her and gently led her back to her seat. She turned to Mariana, "If you want to see your birth mom, your mom and I will talk about it. When we think you and Ana are ready for it, we will plan a _supervised_ visit."

Stef took a deep breath to calm herself and added, "Supervised is key here, Mariana. If we had been there, you would have been in a safe environment, and you would have kept your ipod." She was trying to keep her anger and frustration at bay. She still planned to get a restraining order.

Lena looked back at Mariana and gently asked, "Did seeing your birth mom go as you had hoped?"

Mariana shook her head, "No…. I wish you had been there."

"I'm glad you see that now."

Mariana looked up at her moms with tears in her eyes, "Do you still love me?"

"Always sweetheart," Lena answered as she pulled her into a hug. Stef came up on the other side for a squeeze to complete the mama sandwich. She was still upset at Ana, but she saw how Mariana was hurting and knew that she needed her moms.

Then Stef looked over at Callie and gently said, "Come here sweets." and pulled her into the hug too. "This is a mama sandwich and it makes everything feel better."

Callie couldn't help but smile. Mama sandwiches did make everything feel better.

xoxoxoxo

That night after all the kids were asleep, Lena settled in Stef's arms and softly said, "I know we don't really have room to foster more children, but…"

"I know what you're going to say, love, but that would make 5 kids!"

Lena reached out to hold Stef's hand, "I know, I know, but somehow Callie and Jude are already becoming a part of our family. They're here almost every weekend anyway. And Mariana and Callie are already like sisters…. And it feels right. How did you feel when we were hugging Callie and Mariana tonight?"

"Like she belonged here," Stef admitted.

"And it felt so good to tuck in Jude and read him a story. He belongs here too." Lena continued. "I'm falling in love with both of them."

Stef sighed, "I know what you mean. I don't want to let them go either…. Will social services even let them stay?"

"I don't know. But our license is still good. They'll probably need to come do an inspection."

"Damn," Stef cursed, "we'll have to put out the fire extinguishers and drug lockup boxes again."

"Yeah, but we know the drill."

"Where will they sleep?" asked Stef.

"We can fit another bed in Mariana's room and one in Jesus' room."

"Okay," Stef sighed. Lena looked up and smiled at her. "Okay," Stef said again with a smile and bent down for a kiss.

xoxoxoxo

The next morning, Callie woke up with dread. She thought that they would have to go to a new foster home today and then probably a new school. They might not get to see the Fosters again.

Lena knocked on the door and said, "Time to get up for school, kids. Come down for breakfast when you're ready. We need to talk to you before school."

At the breakfast table, Stef gave them a big smile as she said, "So, Mama and I talked last night, and we would like to foster Callie and Jude. What do you think?"

"Really?" Jude yelled. Stef nodded and smiled even wider.

All the kids were excited and yelled out yes. Callie smiled at Mariana and Jude, with tears in her eyes.

Lena said, "Good, it's unanimous," looking around at everyone's smiles. She put her arms around both Callie and Jude to give them a squeeze. "I called your social worker this morning, and we will meet with him today while you are at school to do all the paperwork."

She turned to look at Mariana and Callie and said, "And everyone is going to school and staying there all day, right?" They quickly nodded with wide eyes.

"Okay, shake a leg everyone, get your backpacks and into the van," Stef ordered. "And Mama and I need a kiss and a hug from everyone before you go!"


End file.
